Hands-on wedding: 5 Money-saving DIY ideas

Getting crafty is great for money-conscious brides-to-be. Not only does it help save money, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to spend more time with your bridesmaids and personalise your wedding. The list of DIY projects is endless.

personal crafts for your big day

Getting crafty is great for money-conscious brides-to-be. Not only does it help save money, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to spend more time with your bridesmaids and personalise your wedding.

These five ideas cover each aspect of a wedding from start to finish. Take things into your own hands and make the wedding of your dreams!

Floating floral wedding centrepieces

Table centrepieces are an integral part of wedding decor. While floral arrangements are the standard go-to for the centre of the table, ordering pre-made displays can be expensive and it leaves the same generic centrepiece for each table.

Cut down the cost by making your own table centrepieces using inexpensive cylindrical vases, water and flower petals. You can get even more creative with these centrepieces by adding floating candles and wrapping the vases with ribbon. The fantastic thing about these centrepieces is that you can design them to your liking — simple or intricate, the same for all tables or each table with a unique centrepiece.

Buying flowers in bulk and arranging the display yourself will save money and allow you to control costs depending on how intricate you want your centrepieces to be. This is also a project that you and your bridesmaids can do together, adding the bonding time factor to the overall wedding experience

General materials:

Cylindrical vases

Flower petals

Citrus fruit

Bulk flowers

Tea light candles or floating candles

Glass pebbles

Ribbon

The cylindrical vases can be bought at your local craft or home decor store. Large mason jars will also work if you’re trying to cut costs. Buying your flowers in bulk from a floral shop or the floral department in your local grocery store will save you a lot of money as opposed to having pre-arranged floral displays. Add glass pebbles to the bottom of a vase and stuff it with halved or quartered citrus fruit and voila! You get beautiful and unique table centrepieces that your guests are sure to notice.

Bridesmaid gift boxes

Show your girls some love and appreciation with bridesmaid gift boxes. You can personalise a box for

each bridesmaid or create boxes that all have the same contents. This is also a great way to ask a potential bridesmaid to be a part of your wedding. Your bridesmaids are going to be highly involved in planning your big day and showing them how much they mean to you will make the wedding planning process much sweeter!

General things to make a bridesmaid gift box are:

Wooden cigar boxes

Paint

Glitter

Ribbon

Tissue paper

Flower stickers

Font stencils or font lettering stickers

What you place in the box is at your discretion! Some gift ideas include:

Mini bottles of liquor

Makeup

Sweet treats

Wedding-themed stationery

Jewellery

Pictures (of the two of you or the wedding party as a group)

Personalised thank you note or wedding invitation

All the parts for the gift boxes can be found at your local craft store. This DIY idea is simple and inexpensive. And the best part of this project is that your bridesmaids will be sure to feel the love — making your big day that much more special!

Mason jar lighting

Mason jars are inexpensive and versatile, making them a great option for wedding lighting.

Mason jars can be decorated to fit any theme and come in a variety of sizes. Twist wire around the mouth of the jar and you create a lantern that can hang from almost anywhere. This is a craft that your bridesmaids can help you with as well.

Here are a few lighting ideas:

Cover the jar in lace and place a candle on the inside.

Fill the jar with glass beads or seashells and place a candle on top.

Fill the jar with water and place a floating candle in the jar.

Paint the jar with semi-opaque paint and place a candle inside to create coloured mason jar lanterns.

Wrap straw or twine around the neck to fancy up the jar.

Lighting is important in setting the mood for your wedding. Keep it simple or make it intricate — the amount of things you can do with mason jars is endless!

Wedding reception wish tree

Wish trees add an unconventional flair to a wedding reception and you have the added bonus of displaying it as home decor. This idea is simple, sweet and sentimental, requiring little effort or materials to put it all together. Depending on whether you want to keep it or not, there are many variations on how you can present your tree.

The stationery is easy to find and can be made to hang by using a hole punch and tying a ribbon through the hole. All your guests will need to do is to write his or her wishes and hang it on the tree!

Wish tree base ideas:

Buy a large vase and fill with branches.

Go to a home decor store and purchase a tree limb jewellery stand.

Use a dried or fake plant or tree as a wish tree.

Use an indoor live plant as a wish tree.

Use a large tree outdoors — in this case you can collect the stationery wishes and put them in a scrapbook!

General materials:

Stationery notes with ribbon

Pens or pencils

Pencil holder

Having a wish tree will add an intimate touch to your wedding and you will be able to keep the wishes you receive for a lifetime!

Honeymoon fund jar

Jar your way to a holiday with a honeymoon fund jar. A honeymoon fund jar is perhaps the most affordable and rewarding DIY wedding investment. It’s a cute wedding reception idea that comes with the added benefit of getting money! Imagine how much sweeter your honeymoon will be knowing that your wedding party helped send you to your honeymoon destination. The best thing is that all you need are mason jars or a large table wine bottle. Decorate the jar how you choose and display it at the guest common area of your reception.

General materials:

Mason jars

Table wine bottle

Stationery (to accessorise)

Ribbon (to accessorise)

Paint (to decorate the jar if you choose)

Big or small, a honeymoon fund jar is an easy and fun addition to your reception display. Happy crafting!